


Arthurverse

by AngelItalySRG, Iamthesmileyface



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: ??? is there just hiding, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, M/M, Multi, Sort of spiderverse but Arthur, There's going to be multiple Arthurs, adding more tags when needed, multiple AUs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-01-31 14:18:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18592981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelItalySRG/pseuds/AngelItalySRG, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamthesmileyface/pseuds/Iamthesmileyface
Summary: What seems like a innocent, light-hearted coffee shop au, goes terribly wrong.Arthur Kingsmen was your average minimum wage worker at your average local coffee shop. He had an Uncle as a caretaker, a well paying job, and he was in college for his dream job. Life seemed great for Arthur, but under the surface, he was close to breaking. Finals were coming up, his uncle wanted him at the shop, his hours were increasing, and to top it off, he had no actual friends. Sure, he could talk to some of his classmates but most of them were pretentious, know-it-all jerks. He was downright exhausted, lonely, and stressed to the max.But there's about to be more stress added to our protagonists story. More than your average troubles...





	1. Chapter 1

“… Yeah, okay….” Arthur mumbled, watching as the six other versions of himself scrambled away from each other in a panic.

 

 _This is fine,_ he thought, _I’m just sleep deprived and seeing double._ It was all going to be okay. He just needed to finish his closing shift and then actually sleep like Lance had been lecturing him about. Yeah, that’s all he needed.

 

He laughed quietly and turned away from the others, taking a few steps before the world spun, his vision going black as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

 

* * *

 

Arthur Kingsmen was your average minimum wage worker at your average local coffee shop. He had an Uncle as a caretaker, a well paying job, and he was in college for his dream job. Life seemed great for Arthur, but under the surface, he was close to breaking. Finals were coming up, his uncle wanted him at the shop, his hours were increasing, and to top it off, he had no actual friends. Sure, he could talk to some of his classmates but most of them were pretentious, know-it-all jerks. He was downright exhausted, lonely, and stressed to the max.

 

He sighed as he clocked in and tied on his green apron, quickly making himself a black Americano with enough shots to shorten his lifespan, but it’d at least keep him awake and overall “peppy” for his eight hour shift.

 

He hummed softly as he went about the usual tasks and orders, hours easily going by.

 

He looked up as the door dinged, smiling softly as Lewis and Vivi walked in.

 

The two had been a couple since their senior year of high school and were Arthur's favorite regulars. They were sweet, funny, always tipped, and never expected free things like _other_ regulars. The duo were around the blonde barista’s age and, for some reason, had an interest in his timid, socially awkward personality over his coworkers social butterfly personalities.

 

Arthur had known them for about two years now and was making very poor attempts at befriending the two outside of work. Whenever he would gather up the courage to ask for anything like a number or some sort of social media, it would immediately end in a stuttering, flushing mess as he quickly handed them their drinks and ran to the back to cool down, spending the rest of his shift beating himself up in embarrassment.

 

He couldn’t help it though. This was something he struggled with all his life and wouldn’t change over night.

 

It also didn’t help that he found Lewis and Vivi attractive.

 

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the dorkiest barista in the universe!”

 

“My, my, if it isn’t Lewis in the flesh with the fabulous Vivi!” Arthur said, draping a rag over his shoulder while moving to lean on the counter. “What can I do for ya? The usual or something a little different?”

 

“Playing it on the safe side and doing the usual. Next time we’ll live more on the dangerous side.” The blue haired girl said, hugging her boyfriends arm.

 

Arthur nodded and moved to start making the drinks, winking as he told them not to worry about paying today. They thanked him, Lewis still getting out his wallet to place two dollars into the shop’s tip jar.

 

“Sooo, what have you guys got planned today?” He asked, finishing and handing Lewis his caramel mocha topped with cinnamon while starting on Vivi’s drink, a hot green tea with raspberry.

 

“You won’t believe this but we got an actual, BIG, amazingly, awesome case to work on!! So, okay, you know how me and Lew are super, super in love with the paranormal and are trying to basically become a two person Scooby-Doo ghost hunting gang, right?? Most people don’t take us seriously but someone did!!” Vivi squealed in excitement, hopping in place.

 

 _So adorable_ , he thought.

 

The tired blonde laughed at her clear enthusiasm, setting her drink down for her to grab when she was ready, “Dude, that’s great! How did they find you guys and what’s the ‘big, amazingly, awesome case?'”

 

“Oh, I can’t believe we never told you about our Youtube channel, considering that’s Vivi’s pride and joy. The guy found us on there and sent us an email. It was… a stranger email than I’d like but he recommended this cursed cave and said it’s pretty active. I researched it and everything he said checks out. He basically wants us to confirm it’s haunted so he can completely close it off.” The purple, nicely dressed boy replied, rubbing the back of his head.

 

A trait, Arthur now recognized, when Lewis was nervous or unsure.

 

“Yeah… That is pretty weird… If I’m being honest, it sounds like a murderer trying to make you his next victim. Are you sure it’s safe??”

 

“Lewis looked into the owner, and he doesn’t seem to have a criminal record, at least any _we_ could find, and his email matches up to the one he has on his Facebook.” Vivi said before taking a small sip of her tea. “We’re still going to take some precautions, like bringing my bat and Mystery. Better to be safe than sorry.”

 

She chuckled before looking up at Lewis, giving him a look. He nodded and cleared his throat, gentle shades of purple meeting dark, chocolate brown.

 

The blonde’s heart fluttered in his chest as he felt heat rise in his cheeks.

 

_Breathtaking._

 

“Artie,” the tan boy started, gaining Arthur’s full attention, “Vivi and I wanted to know if, uhm, maybe you’d like to come a long?”

 

His eyes widened in shock as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, completely thrown off.

 

“W-Wait, you want — you want me to — to go… with you…? But why??”

 

Vivi smiled brightly and shrugged. “Why not? You’re a pretty cool dude, and we’ve been looking for an excuse to hang out with you. Plus, didn’t you say the other day that you have a van? We could really be a knock-off Scooby-Doo gang!!”

 

The barista rubbed his right arm and avoided eye contact, weighing the pros and cons. This was the perfect opportunity to get closer to the couple like he wanted, and he’d _love_ to help them out. It made him feel fuzzy being needed by them and being a first choice. There was just one issue for him.

 

He was the biggest chicken in the entire universe.

 

Arthur didn’t handle anything remotely scary well and tended to run off at the first sign of danger. Whether a movie, game, haunted house, or even a balloon popping, Arthur Kingsmen refused to be a part of it.

 

“U-Uh, well… I’m not entirely sure. It’s not because I don’t want to hangout or anything!! I’d love to! I’m off and everything so — so it’d be perfect! I-It’s just, uh, well I — I —”

 

“Hey, don’t sweat it, Artie! We get it.” Lewis held up his hands and offered a gentle smile, ”This is the first time you’d be seeing us outside your work and not to mention at some creepy cave. What if we found a day this week to go out and eat and talk it over some? That sound good?”

 

Arthur brought a hand to his chin and carefully thought it over before taking a deep breath and nodding.

 

“Okay, I can do that. How about some time on Wednesday?” He asked.

 

“It’s perfect!” The blue haired girl shouted, Lewis looking at her slightly confused before something clicked and he grinned.

 

“Yeah, I’ll send you an address to this super good restaurant. What’s your number?”

 

Arthur couldn’t believe his ears. Something he struggled with for weeks landing perfectly in his lap and making it hard for him to think clearly. He simply nodded quickly and, shaking slightly from excitement and nervousness, pulled out his phone, showing the two his number.

 

They thanked him and each said their goodbyes, the rest of the blonde’s shift going by in a happy haze. Despite his baggy eyes, he radiated a positive glow, a smile never leaving his face.

 

Before he knew it, it was closing time and he was left alone with his thoughts as he finished up cleaning. The coffee shop he worked at was a strange one. Each person took turns closing by themselves and making sure the money from that day was put in a safe. There were no managers, just the owner of the shop who made sure the store stayed stocked and didn’t go bankrupt. The shop owner himself was definitely weird too. Arthur hadn’t really met him or seen him, with the exception of his interview, which, to no surprise was the most bizarre set of questions he’d ever been asked for a job.

 

Questions such as ‘Can you do a back-flip?,’ ‘If a man came running at you with a knife, could you dodge it?,’ and ‘What condition, would you say, your kidneys are in?’

 

At the time, Kingsmen didn’t really care. He was a desperate freshmen in college and just needed something to make income, whether big or small.

 

He jumped as he heard several loud thuds from the front of the cafe, breaking him from his thoughts and happy glow. He stood in the back, frozen in place, biting at his lip as he looked around frantically, trying to spot something, _anything_ he could use to protect himself. God, it was just his luck to be closing during a burglary!

 

His eyes finally landed on something. He took a few deep, shaky breaths to calm himself and pretended it was working as he began to walk towards it, slowly and quietly so as to not alert the burglar...

 

His weapon of choice?

 

A broom.

 

He slowly peeks through a crack in the door leading to the front of the shop, gently pushing on it to see more.

 

So far, nothing.

 

No sound, no movement, just nothing.

 

He stays on his guard, broom raised and held tightly in white-knuckled hands as he gradually moves towards the sitting area. As he gets closer, he spots something purple and breathing, his courage wavering. He still had time to turn around and call the cops. He didn’t have to deal with this.

 

But something was pulling him to look.

 

He needed to see whatever was there.

 

The purple thing slowly sat up and groaned, bringing a hand to his head.

 

It was a person.

 

He was wearing a white t-shirt and puffy purple vest. He had purple pants and purple sneakers. His hair was different shades of purple and it was styled up like a flame. One of his arms was robotic.

 

Arthur’s heart stopped as the person turned around, his own eyes staring back with the same frozen expression.

 

They watched each other for a while, neither able to think of what to say or do. Neither sure this was real.

 

The purple him started to move his arm, causing Arthur to scream and hit the version of himself with a broom as fast as he could. The other him yelped and tried to block the broom that kept hitting him, shouting to get his attention.

 

The barista halted as he noticed the glint of a gun and gulped, slowly backing away as the purple him re-orientated himself.

 

He gasped as he slowly dropped the broom, noticing what else was in the cafe with him.

 

Several other Arthurs gradually opening their eyes from the commotion he had caused.

 

A red one was sprawled across a table, the purple one close to a chair, another with freckles resting against a wall, then three others strewn along the ground.

 

The blonde could only stand in pure shock, certain he was hallucinating. This couldn’t be real.

 

“… Yeah, okay….” Arthur mumbled, watching as the six other versions of himself scrambled away from each other in a panic.

 

 _This is fine_ , he thought, _I’m just sleep deprived and seeing double._ It was all going to be okay. He just needed to finish his closing shift and then actually sleep like Lance had been lecturing him about. Yeah, that’s all he needed.

 

He laughed quietly and turned away from the others, taking a few steps before the world spun, his vision going black as he fell to the ground, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

“Psst…”

 

Arthur shoots up, ears straining to hear anything other than his breathing and the slow sound of something dripping.

 

He brings his knees to his chest, shaking with fear as he tries to curl into himself. He isn’t sure how he got here, but every molecule of his body _knows_ he isn’t safe.

 

Green mist surrounds him, constricting and suffocating, but luring him into a false sense of safety. He gulps as he peeks out from his arms, bracing himself to see someone, _something_ , but… there’s nothing there. He releases a breath, very gradually unwinding and pulling himself to his feet.

 

He looked around, trying to understand where he was, but every attempt at retaining the environment around him was forced out of his brain, something tugging on him to forget, to lose himself in the swirling greens.

 

“Arthur.”

 

He spins around.

 

His blood runs cold.

 

He’s now face to face with someone he never thought he would see again.

 

“D-Dad…?” He asks tentatively, dread crawling up his back.

 

No response, only cutting disappointment in his eyes.

 

“B-But how?! I-I thought y-you were- Wait!”

 

His father scoffs and turns away from him, disappearing into the fog.

 

“Come back!” He shouts, starting to chase after the shadow.

 

“Artie, sweetie.” A female voice calls to him, his heart aching in fear and pain.

 

He turns to see his mom, her arms open and a welcoming smile on her face.

 

Tears well up in his eyes, rushing towards her, but only able to watch as the mist swallowed her away. He falls to his knees, choking on his sadness as he hugs himself tightly.

 

“ _How could you_. We were suppose to be a team, Arthur.”

 

The blond looks up at Lewis staring down at him with cold, purple eyes.

 

But this wasn’t Lewis.

 

A large hole was in his chest, gushing with blood and staining his vest a deep crimson, making the barista sick to his stomach. He watched in horror, unable to look away, as Lewis’ flesh gradually melted off from purple flames enveloping him, leaving nothing but an angry skeleton.

 

“Why did you do it, Arthur? I loved him!” He glances to the side, seeing Vivi sobbing while glaring at him. “I hate you!!”

 

“Vivi… Lewis… Wh-What’s going on…?”

 

He blinks, the couple suddenly gone, like they were never there to begin with.

 

A growl sends him scrambling to his feet, quickly turning to face whatever made the noise.

 

A giant, shadowy creature with large teeth and bright, evil, yellow eyes watches him, ready to attack. He holds his breath, trying desperately to stay still and hope the beast doesn’t attack.

 

Then it moves.

 

And he’s running.

 

Running as fast as he can, tears blurring his vision as he looks for an escape from this nightmare. All he can hear is the thumping of his heart and a beast barking at him, _so close_ to devouring him whole.

 

“Help!!! Someone, please, help me!!!” He cries out to the green mist, to anyone that might be listening.

 

He passes other vague shadows, his father and mother, Lance, Vivi, Lewis, _everyone_ he’s every known simply watching him in disdain as he races for his life.

 

The blond grunts as he runs straight into someone, staggering back and groaning as he re-orientated himself.

 

He looks at who he ran into, letting out a scared yelp, and rubs his eyes free of tears to double check what he was seeing.

 

In front of him, stood himself, faced away and overlooking a cliff. Arthur hesitantly reaches a hand out to their shoulder, retracting his hand quickly when it actually made contact. He takes a harder look at the him in front of him, noticing a strange green complexion and how unnaturally still he was.

 

“Thanks for your help. I never could have done it without **you**.”

 

The blond’s blood goes cold, gradually taking a few steps back as the green version of himself turned to face him, a sinister grin growing, and chuckled.

 

“Allow me to repay you for your kindness, _Arthur_ ~.”

 

He jumps as multiple arms grab onto him, frantically looking at what they were connected to and seeing his friends and family pulling him away.

 

But they weren’t just pulling him away, they were ripping him from his body, making him scream in pain as he desperately tried to fight his way out of their grasps.

 

The green him shrieked with laughter, the high, cold cackle all Arthur could hear, watching helplessly as that version of himself evaporated into smoke and circled his lifeless body.

 

The fog around them got denser, filling his lungs, choking him between his screams and fighting limbs. He was rapidly getting exhausted, the corners of his vision growing darker with each gasp for oxygen.

 

He couldn’t move.

 

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, he couldn’t see.

 

He was nothing…

 

_“But mine for the taking.”_

 

* * *

 

Arthur gasped awake and tried to sit up, slamming his head hard into another’s and sending him reeling in pain to the ground, practically coughing a lung out from taking in too much air.

 

He groaned as he let his eyes stay closed, his body weak and mind muddled, grasping to remember what happened, but only seeing a pair of glowing, green eyes amongst the pitch black.

 

His breathing evened out as his nerves finally started to calm down, sighing while moving a hand up to rub his forehead,

 

“We’ll come back to _that_ in a moment, for now, let’s get him some ice and see if we can get him to talk.” A voice whispered, followed by a chair scooting out and someone quickly walking.

 

Arthur cracked his eyes open a little, groggily looking up at the person leaning over him.

 

He stared into a mirror, looking over the details of his image.

 

Everything seemed in order.

 

Funny, he didn’t remember having one green eye.

 

* * *

 

Another Arthur, who was not the one we had previously been following, moans as he slowly opens his eyes and stares up at an unfamiliar, but unremarkable ceiling, confused as he hazily heard someone screaming. He brings a hand up to his face, trying to rub away the lingering sleepiness. He lets his eyes drift closed again, sighing softly. Vivi, his best friend, was right about him really needing sleep. Maybe he could rest a little longer…

 

His eyes snap open as memories quickly flood his mind, reminding him of the danger he was just in. He sits up swiftly and glances around, the momentary panic slowly dissipating as he realizes he wasn’t in the same place as before with the same menacing problem.

 

However, he also had no idea where he was or how he had gotten here, which only added to the growing list of problems he had lately.

 

That wasn’t the only issue about his surroundings though.

 

He was currently looking at multiple versions of himself.

 

The blond jumps as he notices a ‘him’ very close to himself, scrambling away and hugging his left arm to his chest.

 

“What the heck?!” He shouts, not noticing a few feet away as someone collapses to the ground.

 

“Wh-Why do you all look like me…? What’s going on?” One of the Arthurs, wearing a sun pin instead of a star, asks nervously, hugging himself tightly while shaking.

 

“Yeah! And why are you all purple except him?!” An Arthur, wearing all red, points at an Arthur wearing all purple.

 

Each one stare at the one wearing red with a confused expression, one with glasses timidly raising his hand, “Um, you do know that, he’s, uh, the only purple one here, right?”

 

They all remained silent, each exchanging a look of mingled confusion, fear, and/or worry.

 

Arthur noticed another him on the ground unconscious, slowly standing up and pointing at him.

 

“Is he okay?”

 

“That’s the guy who hit me with a broom!” The purple Arthur shouted, leaping to his feet angrily.

 

“Holy crap, he’s got a gun…” The Arthur wearing glasses commented, face paling.

 

“Th-This is scary…” The blond with the sun pin mumbled, hiding his face in his knees.

 

In a flash, a small scene of chaos erupted, each version fighting with one another. The purple Arthur, sniper rifle in hand, was being held back by the one wearing glasses as he panickedly tried to keep him from hurting the knocked out Arthur. The one with a sun pin was nervously scooting away from the red Arthur as he pestered him about what was going on. Only one stayed sitting, calmly observing everything unfold while the Arthur, the most normal of them all, slowly felt more and more frustrated.

 

This couldn’t continue.

 

“Hey!! Everybody shut up!” He shouts, gathering all of their attention.

 

He lets a moment of silence pass before sighing heavily, collecting his thoughts.

 

“Listen, we’re all confused and freaked out how we got here and why there’s a bunch of ‘us.’ But we need to focus. If we want to get out of this mess, we need to start putting the pieces together first. _Not_ acting like children.”

 

Reluctantly, the purple Arthur put away his rifle and crossed his arms, huffing in annoyance while the one wearing glasses started to relax at the lack of guns drawn. The red and sun-pinned Arthurs gave him their attention, the different pinned Arthur relieved when the red one stopped his pestering. The calm Arthur lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, seeming surprised one of them could be so assertive.

 

“Okay, now, let’s start with that guy on the ground? Is he alright??”

 

The blond with glasses kneels down next to the barista and checks him over, slowly nodding after a moment.

 

“I’m pretty sure he just fainted. Either from shock or severe lack of sleep, I’m not sure.”

 

“Or the guilt of beating me with a broom?” The purple one comments under his breath, glaring at the ground.

 

“Well, that’s good. Let’s, um, make him a little more comfortable.” The star-pinned Arthur said, taking off his puffy vest.

 

Soon the other Arthurs joined him, making a makeshift pillow and blanket for the unconscious Arthur. The star-pinned double got the others to gather chairs around a table and sit, the calm Arthur, who had one green eye, stayed next to the unconscious one as everyone talked and tried to figure out what happened to them.

 

“Alright, we need a way to tell us apart, like uh, special names.”

 

“Oh! Oh! I want to be Squirrelera! Destroyer of fruits!” The red colored Arthur shouted excitedly, waving his hand in the air while the others stared at him like he had grown a second head.

 

“Love the enthusiasm, but not quite what I meant…” The star-pinned one chuckled awkwardly, “More so calling the one wearing glasses ‘Glasses’ and the one that’s purple ‘Purple.’”

 

 **“** Uh, but that’s all of you?”

 

“Dude, I’m the only one that’s purple. The rest of them, with the exception of you, are yellow and orange.” ‘Purple,’ as the star-pinned Arthur had called him, said in frustration.

 

The red one slammed his hands on the table and stood up while yelling, “What the heck?! Are you colorblind? I’m green, you’re yellow, and they’re purple. Simple as that!”

 

The other Arthurs looked at each other confused before the star-pinned one cleared his throat.

 

“We’ll… address that later… For now, names. What do you guys want to be called?”

 

The red Arthur grumbled as he sat back down, everyone silent as the tension grew thicker and thicker with each side glance and small movement. Finally, one of the Arthurs raised his mechanical arm, visibly the most nervous of the bunch.

 

“I-I like going by S-Sun.” He mumbles, being met with silence as he slowly lowered his hand.

 

“Eh, to hell with it. I’m fine with Purple as a code name.”

 

“Vivi calls me PomPom, so, I guess you guys can just call me Pom…?”

 

“Glasses works for me.”

 

“Awesome, guys! Hm… I guess since there’s not much that makes me different from you guys… What about Star since I have a Star pin?” Star asks the others, each one nodding or giving a thumbs up.

 

He beamed at the progress they were starting to make, glancing over at the two Arthurs on the ground. The one that had been the most relaxed of them, had his hand over the passed out Arthurs forehead, seeming to check his temperature. The one still unconscious was shaking slightly, eyebrows knitted together as he panted. He looked like he was getting a fever.

 

“Hey, uh, what did you want your name to be?”

 

The calm Arthur snapped his hand away and swiftly looked up at Star, sending shivers racing down his spine at the sight of the one green eye holding a dangerous glint within it. But within a blink, it was like it had never been there, the calm Arthur giving him a curious look.

 

“... Eye.” He whispers softly, his voice sounding hoarse.

 

“Ahhh, I get it! Cause you have one red eye! Haha, I like it!” Pom clapped, laughing a bit.

 

Eye merely stared at him with an unreadable expression before looking back down at the barista, watching him as he tossed and turned in his sleep, shakily moving a hand to his neck like he couldn’t breath. None of the Arthurs noticed, though, as they quickly got distracted with an argument.

 

“Alright, Pom was it? Are you high or something?? The guys eye is _green_!” Purple seethes, moving closer to the red head as he started to stand up again.

 

“I could ask you guys the same question! Why am _I_ the only sane one here!”

 

“L-Lets calm down… It’s obvious we’re all the same person but from, I think, different timelines? Maybe Pom comes from one where colors are different. How about we try to figure out what colors he sees and the colors they actually are?” Glasses quickly interjects, just barely de-escalating the situation.

 

Purple huffs and moves to sit as far away from the red Arthur as possible, Pom doing the same. Sun pulls out a small notebook from his vest and quickly flips through it till he gets to a blank page.

 

Glasses points at himself, “So, you see me as purple and, uh, Purple as yellow?”

 

Pom nods as Sun starts writing notes.

 

“What color do you see yourself as?”

 

“Green.”

 

The Arthurs suddenly hear a gasp and look over in time to see the unconscious, now conscious, version of themselves fly face first into Eye, who was leaning over him, before coughing harshly and struggling for air, the green eyed Arthur groaning as he held his head.

 

“Ouch…” Glasses mumbles, “We’ll come back to _that_ in a moment, for now, let’s get him some ice and see if we can get him to talk.”

 

* * *

 

Arthur stared into a mirror, looking over the details of his image.

 

Everything seemed in order.

 

Funny, he didn’t remember having one green eye.

 

The flicker of a memory snaps the blond out of his tired haze, immediately scooting away from the other him in fear while sitting up.

 

“Okay, what the fuck. Is this some shitty prank or have I finally died from lack of sleep?” The barista asks, glaring at each version of himself.

 

They glanced at each other as Sun slowly sat next to the confused, and deeply disturbed, Arthur, holding out a bag of ice wrapped in paper towels.

 

“F-For your head.”

 

He looked it over suspiciously before cautiously taking it and pressing it against the already growing red mark on his forehead, Sun handing Eye his own.

 

“Seriously… What’s going on… I’ve gotta be hallucinating or- fuck, I don’t know- _something_!”

 

“Unfortunately, we’re all very real. We haven’t figured it out ourselves but- Hey! We have names for each other!” Star smiles, trying to be positive, “What do you want to be called?”

 

“How about my fucking name? Arthur?” The blond glared and crossed his arms.

 

Purple scoffed and took a step forward, returning the blond’s anger, “So we just give up going by our names and let you? I don’t think so. In fact, I have a name for you. Let’s call you Coffee since apparently you have a shitty job making them.”

 

“Oooh, I like coffee! Can I have some?!” Pom asks, rocking in his chair.

 

“What- no! Everything is turned off and I’m not re-cleaning just for you. And so what if I have a shitty job? At least I have one!”

 

“Like we don’t?! In my universe, I work with my uncle Lance at his mechanic shop. Anyone else do that?” The other Arthurs slowly raised their hands.

 

The barista rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, pushing himself off the ground and dusting himself off.

 

“What was that?”

 

“Nothing I wanted you to hear. I guess if we need ‘code names,’ I’ll go by Coffee. What’s everyone else’s?” He asked, followed by each Arthur telling the names they choose for themselves.

 

“Well, now that, that is sorted out, let’s figure out how we all got here. I’ll start us off.” Star says, the other Arthurs moving back to the table as Coffee begrudgingly moved to a seat as well.

 

* * *

 

“Alright, so… let me get this straight… All of you were being chased by this giant, flaming ghost from this random mansion that didn’t exist? Except Pom and Glass, which, I’ll come back to.”

 

Each Arthur nods.

 

“Then after a quick break, you were chased off the road by the _same ghost_ in a semi truck he was possessing, who then threw you into the truck where you found yourself in a cave?”

 

They nod again.

 

“And _then_ , this ghost threw you over the edge of a cliff and revealed he was Lewis, who you all were looking for. And that’s… it?” Coffee finishes, looking up from the notes he had to take.

 

The Arthurs awkwardly nod again.

 

“What… _the actual_ … fuck is wrong with your universes? Like, Glasses, your story makes more sense than everyone else’s. A sad ghost haunting your apartment and then tripping you? Sure, more believable than being thrown off a cliff!” The barista slams his notes down and rubs his temples.

 

“Don’t even get me started with yours, Pom. You want me to believe an ice ghost chased you down the road with an _ice cream truck_?!”

 

“But it’s true!! It was fast and didn’t even have ice cream in it!”

 

Coffee groans and rolls his eyes before laying his head down on the table.

 

“We, at least, know what the trigger for all of us was. Instead of dying, we got teleported to Coffee’s universe. But why here and how it happened, I still can’t figure out…” Star scratches the top of his head as he looks over his own notes, sighing in defeat.

 

“We won’t be able to without more information so let’s move on to a different problem. Where the hell are we staying? Pretty sure seven Arthurs can’t just roam around and expect no repercussions.” Purple chimes in, turning to look at Sun, “Plus, some of us have already passed out or could use some sleep.”

 

“Where can you all stay?” Coffee asks, cleaning and fixing up the tables and chairs they had been using.

 

When he’s answered with silence, he looks up and realizes they’re staring at him.

 

The reality of his situation hits him.

 

“ _Oh_ , _fuck no._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coffee - Coffeeshop AU Arthur  
> Star - Cannon Arthur  
> Purple - Color swap Arthur and has a sniper rifle, based off this blog https://msa-gun-squad.tumblr.com/  
> Pom - Color swap Arthur and chaotic - https://prismtheraptor.tumblr.com/post/184448542090/backstory-for-my-corner-of-the  
> Glasses - Arthur wearing glasses - https://calculator-menace-art.tumblr.com/post/184505552727/image-description-a-digital-full-body-flat  
> Sun - Wearing a sun pin, freckles, and has a hearing aid - https://fishbones-wishbones.tumblr.com/post/184479700568/my-part-of-the-arthurverse-hes-from-my-sunshine  
> Eye - Has one green eye


End file.
